CLINTON, S.C. – The Presbyterian College football team earned its first victory of the season with a 28-16 win over Campbell on Saturday night at Bailey Memorial Stadium. PC improves to 1-2, while the Camels fall to 1-2 on the season.

Head Coach Tommy Spangler’s Take:

“Based on how we performed through two weeks, this was an awesome win and against a good football team. We had to start somewhere and this was a good start. I’m just as proud as I can be. I told them to enjoy this because there is nothing better than Clinton on Saturday night after a win.

“Great interception there by Eli Turner and we were able to get some good field position on special teams. The defense bailed us out some there in the third quarter and early fourth. Offensively, heck of a job by coach (Todd) Varn and the staff putting together a plan and staying patient and wearing them down and grinding it. We have some special backs and hopefully they will stay healthy and we can keep building on it.”

How It Happened

The Blue Hose used three second quarter touchdowns to build a sizeable halftime lead. Campbell got on the board first with a 20-yard field goal from Mitchell Brown to give the Camels an early 3-0 lead. PC took control in the second quarter, as Mark Robinson got things started with a 14-yard touchdown run to cap off a 13-play, 70-yard drive and give PC a 7-3 advantage. Torrance Marable followed on PC’s next drive with a 63-yard touchdown reception on a pass from Ben Cheek to push the lead to 14-3. The Blue Hose then scored on its third straight drive, needing just three plays to do so thanks to a 70-yard touchdown pass from Cheek to Damien McGhee, making it a 21-3 game.

Neither offense was able to sustain a drive in the third quarter, as the PC defense was able to maintain the 21-3 advantage heading in to the fourth. Campbell cut in to the lead with touchdown early in the final quarter. A seven-yard rush by Montel Goods made it an 11-point game at 21-10 with 9:23 left in the contest. PC answered late in the fourth with one-yard touchdown run by Robinson, his second score of the game, to push the lead to 28-10 with 2:32 to play in the contest. Campbell countered on their final drive, tacking on a late score with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Smith to Bryan Bailey to make it a 28-16 game. The two-point try was intercepted by Michael Fisher to keep at it 28-16.

Offensive Leader

Ben Cheek led the way for PC, throwing for a career-high 142 yards and two touchdowns on just five completions. It was also the first time in his career that he threw for more than one touchdown in a game, while also recording the longest pass of his career, a 70-yard TD pass to Damien McGhee.

Defensive Standouts

Linebackers Nick Moss and Grant Beidel led the Blue Hose with nine and eight tackles, respectively, on the night. Moss also recorded 1.0 tackle for loss, while Beidel managed 1.5 tackles for loss as a part of 5.0 by the PC defense on the night.

Offensive Notes

- Mark Robinson provided the bulk of the ground game on Saturday night, rushing for 86 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. The rookie is the first PC player to rush for two touchdowns in a game since Darrell Bridges did so against Campbell in 2015. He has now accounted for three of PC’s six touchdowns this season. The three TDs scored are already more than any one PC player had all of last season.

- Torrance Marable continued his strong play, rushing for 55 yards on 19 carries, while scoring his second touchdown of the season on a 63-yard pass play. The freshman already has three plays of at least 58 yards this season with two of three going for touchdowns.

- Damien McGhee recorded the first touchdown of his career with the longest PC pass play of the season, a 70-yard pass from Cheek in the second quarter.

- The 28 points were the most by PC since scoring 31 points against the Camels last season, a stretch of 11 games. The Blue Hose remain unbeaten against the future Big South foe in three all-time meetings.

Defensive Notes

- Elijah Turner recorded his first career interception in the fourth quarter, leading to PC’s final touchdown to ice the game. The sophomore totaled a career-high six tackles, one more than his previous high of five last week against The Citadel.

- Brien Washington managed 1.5 sacks on the night to lead PC, a part of his three stops from the defensive end spot.

- Malachi Brown reached eight tackles in the victory, tied for second-most by a Blue Hose play, coming in just his second career start.

- PC held Campbell to just 4-of-14 on third downs, a conversion percentage of just 28.6 percent.

Up Next

PC continues its seven-game homestand next Saturday with Cumberland (Tenn.) coming to town for another 7 p.m. matchup at Bailey Memorial Stadium.